Ch. 2: Life "Has" Changed

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*(3rd POV)*

Having realized that they were no longer in danger, the other people in the mall had gotten to their feet and gathered around the teen that had saved them. Weiss and Y/N were still standing face-to-face, completely unaware of how they appeared to the crowd of onlookers.

Suddenly, Y/N felt something crash into him from behind. Looking down, he found the source to be a small child staring back at him.

Little boy: (with a beaming smile) You were SOOOoooooOOoo Cool, Mister! You took down all those bad guys like it was nothing!!

The child began waving his arms in the air and hopping in place to mimic Y/N's movements from the battle. The aforementioned teen watched the young lad's display with bewilderment. As this was going on, a woman in her early thirties walked up behind the boy.

Woman: (trying to calm her son down) I apologize if my son was bothering you, young man.

You: (breaking out of your stupor) There's no need to apologize. He wasn't bothering me at all.

Woman: Well, that's good to hear. (turning to her son) Now, dear, isn't there something that you wanted to tell him?

The boy glanced quizzically up at his mother for a moment before turning to Y/N with another bright, toothy smile.

Little boy: Thank you for saving me and my mom, Mister! You're a real hero!!

Soon, everyone else in the crowd was giving their thanks to the masked teen who had saved them. Y/N felt slightly embarrassed by all the praise and gratitude. It was far different from his previous experience with helping others. The awkward feeling soon faded and was replaced by a smile. The young man felt good, knowing he had helped save so many people.

The happy moment was interrupted by the sound of turbine engines getting closer. The sound was quickly followed by the arrival of several white androids entering the building. Leading them, was a man dressed in what looked like a military uniform. The medals decorating his chest led Y/N to believe he was a high-ranking military officer. This suspicion was confirmed when Weiss addressed him.

Weiss: General Ironwood? What are you doing here?

Ironwood: Miss Schnee, I am glad to see that you are alright. As for why I am here, it is to oversee the cleanup of this mess.

The Atlesian General gestured to the unconscious bodies lying around the room. Y/N and Weiss watched the android soldiers set to work, restraining the criminals before they could fully regain consciousness. General Ironwood then turned to address Y/N, directly.

Ironwood: As for you, young man, I would like to personally thank for what you did today. Your actions saved the lives of all those present in this room.

Y/N was about to ask the General how he knew so much about the events that had transpired, but Weiss beat him to it.

Weiss: But General Ironwood, how did you know about all that?

Ironwood: That's quite simple, Ms. Schnee. The criminals brought a camera--as I am sure you are well aware. Since killing you seems to have been their primary goal, I can only assume the camera was meant to broadcast your death to all of Atlas. Even though the person holding it was knocked out, the camera remained active. So, instead of displaying an execution, they instead broadcasted the footage of a single teenage boy wiping out their entire unit.

Weiss: Oh...

You: But how did they know that she would be here, in the first place?

Ironwood: While I hate to admit it, this is far from the first time the White Fang has attempted something like this. It is, however, the first time that a heavily armed group of their soldiers have attempted to broadcast a public execution during an attack. Usually, they stick to guerilla warfare tactics. This was something entirely different. As for how they tracked Miss Schnee to this precise location, I will have my best people look into it.

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